David Stern was asked about the proposed trade of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers that was canceled by him when the NBA were assuming control of the-then New Orleans Hornets.

Paul was to be traded to the Lakers with Pau Gasol going to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster three-team trade.

The Los Angeles Clippers eventually traded for Paul and New Orleans won the lottery to draft Anthony Davis the next year.

"I'm going to correct your language: What 'cancellation'? The GM [Dell Demps] was not authorized to make that trade," said Stern when asked about the canceled trade. "And acting on behalf of owners, we decided not to make it. I was an owner rep. There was nothing to 'void.' It just never got made.

"When you're the commissioner and you have two teams that are ticked off at you, as in the Lakers and Houston, and the GMs without wanting to be attributed, spend their time trashing you, the wrong impression can be granted. It was one of the few times I decided to just go radio silent and let it play out, and I got killed. So, the answer is: there was never a trade. It was never approved by me as the owner rep."

When the decision was made in 2011, a league spokesman said: “League office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons.”

The Houston Rockets have played well to start the Mike D'Antoni era, rebounding from a disappointing 16-17 season. The Rockets are playing with pace and efficiency on offense with their system built around James Harden.

“The good thing about when I took the job was that James wanted to play in the way that I wanted to coach, and that’s taking a lot of threes, getting to the rim, in the paint and foul shots,” said D’Antoni. “And so (it’s) the same philosophy, from the owner to the general manager to the star player.

“It’s worked out better than I thought.…We were hoping that it would get this good, and I think we can get it even better.”

Harden's assists have jumped from 7.5 per game to 11.6 this season.

“(D’Antoni) just told me he was going to make me the point guard and just continue to make me a better player, and he’s doing that. He isn’t trying to control. He just tries to help. And if I see something, I’ll throw it at him. It’s a real friendship; it’s obviously coach and player. And it works.”

D'Antoni is at his creative best again with the harmony of ownership, the front office and players.

“With the help of Daryl and those guys, they push my limits too,” D’Antoni said. “(Sometimes) I’m backing off (philosophically), like ‘Oooh ….’ I get scared, too, getting out on the ledge. But it’s wide open. Do it. And if we come up with something that we think is effective and different, then they’re not afraid to do it. And that’s what I really like.”

Donatas Motiejunas won't report to the Houston Rockets because of a difference of nearly $6 million from the offer sheet he signed with the Brooklyn Nets.

Motiejunas signed a four-year, $37 million offer sheet with the Nets that the Rockets matched. The Rockets only had to match the principal terms of the offer sheet of $31 million.

The $6 million difference was to be paid to Motiejunas via incentive clauses if he played for the Nets.

Houston's options are to keep their first-refusal exercise notice open and wait for Motiejunas to report. If he doesn't report, Houston can pull the offer Thursday and Motiejunas would become a restricted free agent. If they don't pull the offer, it would expire automatically March 1.

Al Horford met with four teams at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta during free agency.

The Houston Rockets went first, followed by the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. Horford had met with the Atlanta Hawks prior to that.

James Harden was in on the meeting with Horford for the Rockets.

“I thought we had a chance,” Harden said on Monday. “I thought we had a really good chance, but obviously it didn’t work out, which is fine.”

Horford said he seriously considered signing with the Rockets.

“I really considered coming here as well,” he said of Houston. “Them and Boston and Washington, but especially here and Boston, were probably the two teams I was really, really looking at. So, just a lot to consider. A really good team, but at the end of the day I just felt like I was better off being in Boston.”

Horford prioritized signing with a team capable of winning immediately and eventually winning big.

“He’s just a great player,” Horford said of Harden. “They have a great organization here and I was very impressed with them…I just think overall I had a better fit here with the Celtics, with our depth here and coach and just everything. There’s just a lot of things that went into my decision.”

Martin spent last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs. Martin played 12 years total in the league, most notably with the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets.

"My family and close friends have known since June of the direction I wanted my life to go. Those were the toughest conversations that I have ever had but with the ultimate support I knew I was making the right decision," Martin wrote in the advertisement published in his local newspaper in Ohio.

Martin was traded by the Rockets to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the James Harden trade.